Sturdy Southampton Defence

So we are at the end of the International break and I imagine that for many Premier League fans including myself it is a good time to reflect on what the Premier League has already served up this early on in the season. Reading through some of my tweets on a Sunday night with my warm cup of tea at my side, I noticed that Southampton have now gone a total of 382 minutes without conceding a single goal. So I decided to read more into how big an impact Southampton's defence have had in their recent up-rise to the top 4 of the Premier League.


Here's another little gem for all the stat-lovers amongst us, Statistically only Roma have a better defence than Southampton in Europe's top 7 leagues in '13-14. Not bad seeing as they are above the likes of Bayern Munich, Barcalona, Juventus and Real Madrid. A stat that will please Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff at Southampton I'm sure. 

So why has Southampton's defence been so solid and successful so far this season? A considerable part of their recent rise has been the growing progress of young English U21 full back Luke Shaw (18) and former England U21 Nathaniel Clyne (22). Both have caught the wondering eyes of many football fans this early on in the season with some formidable and adventurous performances for the Saints. 

Many Southampton fans will also claim that after Kelvin Davies picked up an injury last season then a huge void was left in the Southampton back-line . A void that has been filled by Arther Boruc (33) who's consistent strong performances have been rewarded by receiving a call up to the Poland National Team and earning starts ahead of Arsenal keepers Wojciech Szczęsny and Lucasz Fabianski.  

More than just a defender? Dejan Lovren scores his first goal in a Saints shirt (www.mirror.co.uk)

So they are the great Southampton back-line that have managed to concede ONLY 2 goals this season. Shall we have a look at them in a little more detail?

FULL BACKS


Luke Shaw
The progress of young Luke Shaw has been well broadcasted this season with the young defender earning praise from various football personalities and gaining interest from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea. The adventurous 18 year old has been a revelation for Southampton this season and has offered a ray of solid defensive performances with a nack of also wanting to join and support the Southampton attack whenever possible.  

Nathaniel Clyne
 It wasn't to long ago that Nathaniel Clyne was drawing a list a comparisons to Ashley Cole from various football pundits after a successful spell at Crystal Palace where he was able to create a formidable partnership with Wilfried Zaha. Since his move to Southampton though Clyne has found life hard with the big boys in the Premier League and had a "difficult time adjusting to the pace of the Premier League" according to former boss Nigel Adkins. However this season the right back has looked far more solid and produced a ray a sizzling displays including a solid display at Anfield where he managed to keep former Palace teammate and current Liverpool loanee Victor Moses on mute for 90min. Easier said then done and this is just one of the reasons why he is starting to raise a few eyebrows in the Premier League.  

CENTRE BACKS

Dejan Lovren & Jose Fonte
Another big part of Southamton's recent rise though has been big impact of Croatian defender Dejan Lovren (24) who only joined the Saints in the summer from Olympique Lyonais for 8.7m and only took 7 appearances to notch up his first ever goal for the Saints. His contribution to the cause along with Jose Fonte (29) at the heart of the the Saints defence has been key to their outstanding start to the Premier League Season. One other thing that Dejan Lovren offers this season which may prove vital to a top half finish for the Saints is Champions League experience which he gained at Lyon and Dynama Zagreb. The noticeable difference this season to the Southampton this year is how the centre back pairing have a good understanding of each other allowing for better communication in the Saints back four.  Something the Saints centre backs did not have last year due to a variety of injuries that occurred to both centre backs throughout the season. Arguably last season the Saints defence couldn't organise a dance at a disco but this season look much more comfortable and a solid unit. The Pochetino effect from when he was a defender in his playing days?

DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER

Morgan Schneiderlin 
Although not a defender I believe that Schneiderlin has improved greatly this season and really capitalized on a season where he had a few ups and downs last year. The 23 year old Frenchman has shown a mature side to his game this year amidst the doubts that some had last year that he may have been out of his depth at this level. Not mention how he has had to compete with new Saint Victor Wanyama for his place in the Saints starting XI. His defensive role in the team has become immensely important in the way Southampton play as it allows James Ward Prowse, Gaston Ramirez, Jack Cork and Adam Lallana to make more attacking ventures forwards to aide Rickie Lambert and Dani Osvaldo create chances for the Saints. Overall Schneiderlin has become a key cog in the Southampton's defensive and attacking mechanism and has really impressed this season. 

Morgan Schneiderlin winning possession (photo courtesy of www.premierleague.com)

So there you have it. There is no doubt that Southampton are on a high right now and the addition of Internationally experienced players such as Pochetino, Boruc, Ramirez and Lovren have definitely had a impact on the team and it has placed them on a high after the start of the season. Could there be more International call ups for the likes of Rickie Lambert, Morgan Schneiderlin, Adam Lalana and Nathaniel Clyne? Too soon to tell. If they keep going the way they are though then surely the sky is limit for the Saints right now after their flying start to the 2013/14 Premier League Season. 

Thanks for reading

@ChippKG